There’s a fair amount to criticize: subplots about both statutory rape and prison rape the overuse of the word “retard” a very black-and-white presentation of gender identity and a somewhat derivative suggestion of what women want from their male partners and not one, but two topless scenes that don’t really serve a narrative purpose. Released in theaters on October 20, 1995-almost precisely a year after Clerks- Mallrats is an encapsulation of Smith’s growing influence (that Stan Lee cameo, before such a thing became commonplace in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!), his broad vision for the View Askewniverse, and the kind of edgy ‘90s humor that doesn’t work very well anymore, and perhaps didn’t work very well then, either. While Smith’s industry clout has dimmed some in recent years, Clerks is inarguably his classic.

It spawned the Kevin Smith cinematic universe, and it got a sequel ( Clerks II, co-starring Rosario Dawson and with a notable scene featuring Wanda Sykes, a duo that demonstrated at least some self-awareness from Smith on the racial hegemony of his films), and a number of bona fide A-listers have floated throughout Smith’s projects since (Ben Affleck, most consistently). Clerks is no longer a cult classic at least, not really. The 1994 film was an impressive box office success (it’s cinematic lore by now, but: Smith spent about $30,000 shooting it, and the film made $3.2 million), ended up on countless best-of-the-year lists, and jettisoned Smith into the mainstream. Among his peers, Smith’s breezy, casual style-his interest in showing a certain slice of the working class, with all their pop-culture obsessions and sexual hang-ups-stood out, and Clerks struck a chord with critics and audiences both. No, not single-handedly, but the early 1990s saw a tidal wave of (mostly white, mostly male) filmmakers shouldering their way into film festivals and cinemas: Richard Linklater, with Dazed and Confused and Slackers Quentin Tarantino, with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction Allison Anders, with Gas Food Lodging Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, with Kids Robert Rodriguez, with El Mariachi Julie Dash, with Daughters of the Dust. Kevin Smith’s Clerks changed the world of independent cinema forever.

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